It is well known to use cervical collars to partially immobilize the cervical spine. The simplest such collar is essentially a cylinder that fits around the neck. Such devices are often problematic for many reasons, including discomfort to the wearer, and improper support for the occiput and chin. They are also problematic because they can improperly reduce the lordotic curve of the cervical spine.
To improve comfort and adjustability of cylindrical cervical collars, the collar height can be reduced and head support provided using support pads that are coupled to the collar via support posts as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,776,088 and 5,976,098 to Sereboff. While such collars can be configured to match various anatomical shapes, several problems remain. Among other things, the force distribution of the support pads is typically restricted to the area in which the support posts are attached to the collar. Thus, head stability can not be entirely assured under all circumstances. Furthermore, Sereboff's collars fail to promote proper cervical curvature as the support pads are aligned with the occipital portion of the skull.
Alternatively, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,612 to Moore et al. or U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,759 to Morgenstern, a cervical collar includes a posterior portion that is contoured to follow the curve of the back of the head or occiput to support the head. Such configurations advantageously tend to distribute forces from the head to the collar over a relatively large contact area. Moreover, a contoured posterior portion typically helps restrain rotational movement. However, while the posterior portion of at least some of these collars are adjustable in width and angle relative to the anterior portions, the posterior portion fails to promote or maintain proper cervical curvature. Similarly, Applegate et al. teach in U.S. Pat. No. 3,313,297 a cervical splint in which the head angle is movably adjusted using a chin support that is adjustably coupled to a collar.
In still further known cervical collars, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,097,824 and 5,230,698 to Garth, a cervical collar has a posterior portion that circumferentially supports the occipital portion of a skull, and further includes an occipital shelf to provide additional supports. The shelf in such collars can be formed by the back portion of the collar, or an angled element can be inserted for additional support. While such collars can provide at least some degree of assistance for proper cervical curvature, various difficulties nevertheless remain. Among other things, achieving the desired curvature of the supporting structure requires a “2nd step” once the collar has been properly tightened.
Thus, while numerous cervical collars are known in the art, all or almost all of them suffer from one or more disadvantages. Consequently, there is still a need to provide improved cervical collars, and especially collars that promote or assist proper cervical curvature.